Monday, September 19, 2011

A look back at week three...Ah the good, the so-so, the ugly. There was plenty of it last weekend in the Big Ten. That said, I'm not sure we will truly know who's who until we get into league play. But isn't that all that really matters anyway?

The good...Illinois and Iowa. Both beat very good teams even if in very different ways. Illinois really owned ranked ASU in Champaign and despite being down early in the 4th, was largely in control from the onset. Iowa was down big time. Things were looking bleak. Then the Hawkeyes awoke and stormed from behind for a potential season-making win.

The so-so...Michigan. Wisconsin. Nebraska. Purdue. Indiana. Minnesota. Penn State. Some lopsided wins here with a few nail bitters as well. Why so-so for blowouts? Michigan hasn't proven they are anything different than the past few seasons. Wisconsin hasn't played anyone. Nebraska simply won a game it should have but still lacks the defense we thought they'd boast. IU and PU played nobody's. Minnesota beat a decent MAC team but not emphatically. Penn State is as stagnant as ever on offense.

The ugly...Michigan State. Ohio State. Northwestern. The Spartans shot themselves in the foot with untimely penalties, two failed scoring attempts inside the five and the first kickoff for a TD surrendered in 9 seasons. Ohio State has zero chance with this offense. Whew, that stunk! And Northwestern goes to West Point and gets rolled on the ground. Three winnable games where our Big Ten brethren seemed to forget to show up.

This week...Nothing great on the slate for this weekend. Big Ten v. MAC heats up with three more such battles but no marquee matchups at all. NU and PU get the weekend off. MSU and OSU will look to rebound.

San Diego State at Michigan (Game of the Week)
Central Michigan at Michigan State
Eastern Michigan at Penn State
Louisiana-Monroe at Iowa
Colorado at Ohio State
Western Michigan at Illinois
South Dakota at Wisconsin
North Dakota State at Minnesota
Indiana at North Texas
Nebraska at Wyoming

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